This invention relates to a control for a navigational system for vehicles and more particularly to a control for a navigational system for small, relatively open vehicles such as motorcycles.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest for the incorporation in a vehicle of a navigational system. These navigational systems permit the operator to utilize a computer arrangement for selecting a desired destination. The system then may offer alternative routes to that destination and may, at times, determine the best route for the operator to follow from his present location to his desired destination.
These systems obviously have great advantage, but require thoroughly substantial displays inasmuch as they show the routing via a map. The display normally incorporates a color cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal display also having color capabilities.
In addition to the actual display and computer, it is also necessary to provide a device wherein certain input can be received such as maps of various locals so that the computer can select the appropriate courses. Thus, there is a fairly bulky system required in order to achieve these results. In addition, the display must be positioned in a location so that the operator of the vehicle can easily read it.
Although these goals are quite simple to obtain in large vehicles, such as automobiles, other types of vehicles, such as off the road vehicles or motorcycles, do not have the space capability for handling this type of display. Furthermore, these types of small vehicles do not really lend themselves to the inputting of data from a CD-ROM or other similar device.
The use of complicated map displays can be avoided through the use of a navigational system wherein the system has programmed into it the longitude and latitude of various points along the way and indications of how the direction of travel should be changed at these various points. In this way, it is possible to provide an arrangement wherein the display need only show information such as the next point along the path, the distance to that point, and the direction which the operator should turn when he reaches that point. It is also helpful if the operator can be provided with an indication of the instantaneous direction of travel.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a improved navigational system for a vehicle which this type of information is displayed.
In connection with inputting the information for the course of travel, it is desirable to permit this to be inserted in a relatively easy and trouble-free manner. The source of information can be derived in a variety of manners.
It is, therefore, a further principal object of this invention to provide an improved navigational system of this type and an improved and simplified arrangement wherein the data for the respective points of travel can be easily inserted into the control to simplify its construction and the computer that it requires.
Many times, the vehicle operator may desire to travel to a specific location or alternate locations and keep a record of the way in which he arrived there. This will permit him to accumulate data so that he can make the return trip easily and repeat the path of travel. However, if it is necessary for the operator to stop and insert data at each point, this can be rather inconvenient. Also, with may types of vehicles such as motorcycles it is important the operator need not remove his attention from the road when entering data.
It is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified arrangement for entering data into a navigational system when the vehicle is traveling and without requiring loss of the operator's attention.
It also may be desirable for the operator not to have to make the determination of the data points but rather to have the system be capable of automatically entering data at preselected time intervals or distances.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide a navigational control system for a vehicle wherein reference point data can be entered automatically at selected time intervals or distances.
With a navigational system of the type that has been described and which uses point-by-point indicators and instructions that the operator should follow at each point, a question arises as to what happens if the operator wishes to change his direction of travel or make a detour around a point. If the system automatically operates to cancel previous points as they are passed, this may give rise to false information if the operator determines to change his course of travel during the trip.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improve navigational system of this type wherein the operator can control this system by selectively skipping points or arriving at the point through a path other than that which was previously pre-programmed into the system.